Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of federal sex trafficking charges for role in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuses
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of federal sex trafficking charges for role in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuses
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted Wednesday of five federal sex trafficking charges after a jury concluded that she played a pivotal part in recruiting and grooming teenage girls to be sexually abused by her close confidant, the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell was found guilty of five of the six federal counts she was charged with and faces up to 65 years in prison. The judge has not set a sentencing date.
The jury of six men and six women reached the verdict in the federal sex trafficking trial in New York City after six days of deliberations that bookended the holiday weekend. As deliberations dragged on, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who oversaw the case, worried that the omicron variant of the coronavirus and rising case numbers in the city could lead to a mistrial, and she had told the jury that if no verdict were reached, it would have to deliberate through the holiday weekend.
Late Wednesday, however, the jury came to its conclusion.
Maxwell was convicted of conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking of minors.
She was not found guilty of enticing a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, which carried a five-year sentence.
As the verdict was read, Maxwell appeared to sit still and did not look back at the crowd behind her. Once the jury’s foreman finished reading, Maxwell poured herself a cup of water, drank it and conferred with one of her attorneys, Jeffrey Pagliuca, who sat to her right.
After another one of Maxwell's attorneys confirmed that she could get a Covid-19 booster shot in custody, she briefly looked back at her siblings, who sat in the front row, before she was led away.
Virginia Giuffre, one of the first victims of Maxwell and Epstein to step forward but not one of the victims named in this case, said she would "remember this day always."
"Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell’s abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed," Giuffre said.
"I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served," she added. "Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be.”
Giuffre has alleged in a civil lawsuit that Maxwell trafficked her to Prince Andrew, a son of Queen Elizabeth II, when she was 17. He has denied the allegations.
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the jury had found Maxwell guilty "of one of the worst crimes imaginable," which she "committed with her longtime partner and co-conspirator, Jeffrey Epstein."
“The road to justice has been far too long. But, today, justice has been done," he said in a statement. "I want to commend the bravery of the girls — now grown women — who stepped out of the shadows and into the courtroom. Their courage and willingness to face their abuser made this case, and today’s result, possible."
Sigrid McCawley, the attorney for Annie Farmer, a victim in the trial, said the verdict made it clear that abusing and trafficking minors were serious crimes.
"Today’s verdict is a towering victory not just for the brave women who testified in this trial, but for the women around the world whose young and tender lives were diminished and damaged by the abhorrent actions of Ghislaine Maxwell," she said in a statement.
The jury weighed evidence and testimony from about 30 witnesses over three weeks.
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